


Bright

by Ziba



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: F/M, Hide is only mentioned tbh, also saying that there's an actual ship might be overboard, and i like parallelism between the touka/yoriko and kaneki/hide friendship i'm sorry, tw for me using the cliche of touka being bad at literature, you might see it or not see it it's pretty free
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 13:16:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6196463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziba/pseuds/Ziba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tokyo Ghoul AU (of sort) where the Anteiku raid was postponed of a few weeks, and therefore Kaneki got back to the coffee shop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bright

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr, it's one of my first fics.  
> Feedback as always appreciated!

_How are you doing, Touka? Need my notes? You weren’t exactly paying attention in class today._

Touka read the message from her friend, sighing. 

The last few days have been draining for her. She had to put up with studying, working and training, so she had been tired and absent-minded more often than not at school. Of course Yoriko would have noticed.

She looked at the empty shop that she had to guard alone. It had been a slow afternoon, and it was unlikely that the place would have got crowded in the few minutes it would took her friend to give her the notes. So she answered saying her that >

Just as she put down her phone, the door opened, and for a moment she thought that she had imagined a far too good scenario.

It wasn’t a costumer. It was one of the reason that working at Anteiku had been even more stressful in recent days.

Since Kaneki had returned to Anteiku, she had felt uncomfortable around him, mostly because she had no idea how to treat him. She was no fool, and she knew she couldn’t pretend that the six months he was gone or the day she had punched sense into him had not existed. 

But punching him wasn’t an option now, nor it was insulting him. She was trying to get an hold of her temper, and wouldn’t have let that guy ruin her intentions.

She had turned to giving him the cold shoulder. She didn’t say more or less than an (almost) polite “hello” or “goodbye” to him, and even if they had to talk about work she kept it professional and quick.

Not that they really worked together anymore. Kaneki had started working with Yomo, and together they acted as the arms of Yoshimura. Sometimes they were joined by those guys Kaneki brought with him, almost as a task force. What actually they did was something Touka didn’t know.

She had been kept in the dark for a while, know, about many things. She didn’t know what Kaneki had been doing in the months he was gone, even though she did heard the rumors. They were far too distant from the awkward boy who worked with her, and yet something in his attitude made her believe that they weren’t that far from reality. She also wanted to know what he had been put trough during those days in Aogiri hands, but even about this she had half an idea. She just hoped that her imagination was wrong.

-Goodmorning, Touka. Is the Manager here?- he entered, smiling a polite but distant smile. The mid-afternoon light shone into the shop, giving to his white hair (she had read about the MarieAntoinette syndrome, and that didn’t help her to feel any better) an orangish shade.

Touka folded her arms before her chest.-He and Irimi had to go, and left me here to watch Anteiku. So, whatever you want to tell him, leave a note or call him.- she answered, realizing that she had been too harsh. However, she did nothing to make it up to him.

-Oh, that’s too bad.- he looked for a moment at the floor, then he gave a quick glance in the room.-Slow afternoon?-

She shrugged. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

He was.-I remember those, from when I was a waiter. As much as I liked working- he sat at the counter, while talking, and still looking around him with a sorrowful glint in the only eye visible, the other shielded by the eyepatch -I preferred slow days, when I could chat with you or the others, or stay upstairs with Hina.-

Touka’s stomach had a twist. Even though he was taller and older than her, and he had also built up some muscle, he still looked small and torn by something in the inside. She tried to come up with something to say, but turns out she was not good at cheering up people. 

The door opened again, and she sighed in relief, for being saved from the uncomfortable situation. Turned out the situation was about to get worse.

Yoriko entered with a heavy-looking bag, and her eyes immediately scanned the young man before Touka. The dark-haired girl blushed immediatly, knowing already what her friend would have thought.

-Oh, sorry to interrupt!- she exclaimed, hurring to the counter. She took the bag and let it fall on the surface with a loud thud. -Here are all the notes I took, I even added some to the Literatures one.- Yoriko took said notes from the bag and left them on the counter. She then turned her face to Kaneki, and extended an hand to him.-Hi! Nice to meet you, I’m Yoriko. I don’t think we ever introduced ourselves.-

-No you are right.- Kaneki got up and shoke her hand.-I’m Kaneki, nice to meet you too. I’m glad to meet Touka’s best friend.- he smiled, politely and warmly. 

-I’m glad to have met her “friend” too.- she smirked at Touka, and winked at her. Kaneki furrowed her brows, as a red-faced Touka pretty much launched herself at the other girl, to keep her from being more embarassing.

-Thank you for the notes Yoriko, can I offer you a coffee?- she said with a forced smile, that she was sure her friend would have no problem to read.

But Yoriko read it as she wanted to read it.-No, don’t worry, I’m leaving. I don’t want to be the third wheel.- she grabbed her bad, and rushed to the door, giving Touka one last thumbs up, and then giggling closed the door behind her. In the span of three seconds.

Touka pinched the bridge of her knows, happy that her hair hid the red of her ears. She turned to Kaneki, ready to ascribe Yoriko’s behaviour to madness. She didn’t have to, since the ex-waiter was scanning the notes.

-The hell are you doing?- Touka couldn’t help but ask.

He almost jumped out of his skin.-Sorry!- he smiled, scrathing his left cheek, embarassed.-I just wanted to see what were you studying. Your friend is really good at taking orderly notes.- he then looked at her in the eyes, tilting his head.-You are really lucky to have her as a friend, she seems like a nice girl.-

-She is.- she admitted, and smiled at the door, as if her friend was still there. She went behind the counter, starting to prepare two coffees. 

The sad tone in Kaneki’s voice, and the thoughtful expression that he had now on his face, broght to her mind his friend, that she had met some weeks before. She realized that Kaneki was thinking about him, too.

-You should call him, you know.- she said, and found it easier to talk about such a touchy topic with her hands busy.

He looked up at her, with a surprised expression that reminded the girl about the good old days, when Kaneki was still pretty innocent. Annoying, she meant annoying. - I don’t know what you are talking about.-

-I’m talking about your friend, you idiot, Hide.- she hoped that hearing his name would have moved him in some way. Instead, it seemed that poking him had resulted in making him shrink in himself, like snails sometime do.

-Weren’t you the one who said that I didn’t have to let him know about me? And I don’t have my old phone anymore. I can’t call someone without one, right?-

She pushed her phone at him.-He’s under “Annoyineki’s friend”.-

Kaneki looked at her puzzled.-How do you have his phone?- his tone had a strange bite into hit. Not quite aggressive, but neither a calm or neutral one.

-I met him sometime ago. We talked, he was worried about you, so we exchanged number in case we had news about you.- Touka put a cup of hot coffee next to the phone.-I’m not saying that you have to tell him you are a ghoul and such, but at least a “hey, I’m alive” won’t kill anybody I think.-

He looked at the phone as if it was ready to attack him. His hand reached towards it, but ended on the cup. He took a sip of the coffee.

-I don’t know if that’s a good idea.- Touka gave him a murderous look, and opened her mouth to speak, but Kaneki stopped her by waving is free hand.- Fine fine, I’ll call him, just not now.-

-Promise?-

-Promise.- he broke eye contact, scratched his chin and then drank again. Touka saw right through his lie, but didn’t know what to say. He looked again to the notes, and, tied to change subject. -Can I take a look to the notes?-

She got angry, but tried to bottle it up.-Yeah, whatever.- she laid her forearms on the counter, watching him reading the notes. 

-You are studying some really interesting topics, Touka. Brings me back.- he smiled, and she noticed that something had changed in his eyes.

-Interesting? More like complicated and completely useless. What good does it serve me to know that Mr This wrote Novel number nth?-

Kaneki’s eyes went wide.-It does good to your soul!-

Touka huffed.-My soul? My soul need much more than just a book.-

-It’s not about a book. It’s about knowing that other people have experienced what you have, and that you are not alone.- there was a glint in his eyes, a brightness that she hadn’t seen in so long.

She kept him talking about books, arguing with him about them. She had him explain all that was written in those notes. His enthusiasm was a nice change, in comparison to his almost apathetic self that she had seen. She couldn’t pretend that time hadn’t passed, or that things hadn’t changed, but at least for that evening, she could see her old Kaneki back. They kept arguing until Irimi and the Manager came back.

Kaneki went to talk to the Manager, but before going in his office, he gave a bright smile to Touka, even if a bit shy. She blushed a little, pretending to listen to Irimi’s scolding about the books and notes scattered all over the counter.


End file.
